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I love making my Pumpkin Walnut Cookies around Christmas time. I thought I would change it up this time, however. I had a whole lot of bananas left that were turning brown and I figured I could try them and see if perhaps I could make a banana nut COOKIE instead of bread. These are good in that they are not overtly sweet.

What are ten things you are grateful for? List below in the comments. Here are mine. You. (Fans and Friends) That could be very cheesy, but I don't care. I am being honest. I absolutely love my fans because they give me wonderful feedback and I enjoy hearing what you have to say. I don't ever want to take you for granted. It is why I take the time to respond to you as much as I can.

It's not just about your being fans, either. I consider you all my family. I love to chat with you, I love to get to know you. When I can inspire someone to change their life: I absolutely freaking love it. It makes all the stuff I've gone through worth it. When someone takes the time to message me? You better believe I will take the time to respond. Every individual I meet in this life I am grateful for. The good and the bad. Everyone has taught, and will teach, me something. And I do so love learning all about you and what makes you tick. All your wonderful opposing views are fabulous to li…

Being a writing mentor and helping others out with the process of self-publishing, I'm often messaged for quick help. As I tell people: don't hesitate, my door is always open (email ariana@arianabrowning.com) and they're welcome to message me. I try to get back to you as quickly as possible and give you as much information as you need.

The biggest return is how they can help me since my advice is [for now] always free. I am not interested in charging hundreds of dollars for a small packet of information when I can message you really quickly and you get helped as much as I. I love to help. That is generally my return. However, my time is valuable to me so upon thinking about how many times I'm asked that, I thought I would make this post up so I could just link people to it. I need to get better at saying, "this is how you can help me."
There are a few ways you can return the favor if you'd like to help me as well.

Not your ordinary Guest Interview. YOU ask the questions, they give the answers. That’s how it works. Tell your friends, let them know, share and come by to say hi! Meet a new Author.

Today, I am honored to welcome, Ruth Watson Morris, Author of The Voxian Series. She will be around all day to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to ask her questions about her series, her book, Fantacia, or self-publishing in general.

Special: Just for those who come by and comment, she will give away one free paperback copy of her book, Fantacia. Must leave a comment and your email (unless you use FB) to enter.

Do you know the most powerful tool any page owner has? What any site, author, business has in life? YOU and that big ol' mouth of yours.

Facebook loves to try to make page owners and alike PAY to allow you to see what you love most. So we're supposed to pay for your attention? How to fight against it? Use that big mouth you were born with and talk as you love to do. Facebook and their algorithms have nothing on you. YOU are the single most powerful tool anyone on this planet has. Yes, your one little self who you figure isn't so important? You are!

How can you do it? When your favorite (or one of) page posts something; use that "like" button, comment on things they post, post to their walls, and talk about the page to your friends. Share their items. All the analytics and algorithms in the world have absolutely nothing to do with you and can't stop you.

She will be be here and around in the comments to answer any questions you may have all day long. You can use the Facebook system, or Blogger. Ask her about the book, or just questions you'd like to know about her. Anything goes.

EXTRA SPECIAL FOR YOU: She will be giving away a few PDF copies to anyone who comes by and leaves a comment. Make sure to leave your email as well, if you want a chance at one. (The email will only be used for that purpose.)

If you'd like to follow her around the web, or buy a her book, feel free to do so here:

I love having you guys help me in the process of choosing book covers. How to put them together and even how I should place images and such. So, without further adieu, I would love your opinions on which one is your favorite(s) and why/why not.

NOTE: These are copyrighted and in draft form. Please do not be a spoil sport and steal them, or else I will have to stop doing this, or heavily copyright the image(s) so you can't even enjoy them. Link to the page, but DON'T take the photos. Thanks.

Does it grab your attention? Would you pick it up to see what it was about? What do you like/dislike about it? (This one just helps if I remake it, or for future references when making covers.) If there are multiple: which is your favorite?
Easily Peasily And yes, I suck at book covers, synopsis' and that is why I ask you! ;)

Thinking about how to changes things up with my Newsletter to include more things which can help you while maintaining my scrumptious bites you so love. Easily digestible and quick to run through. If you have any tips or suggestions, I always welcome them, so don't hesitate to let me know.

Thinking of focusing more on finding ways to post tutorials and help you learn about self-publishing and such, versus advertising my own books and such. I know I know. Most authors would gasp and say I am crazy for it. It's not a quick process. Yes, I will be spending just as much time marketing and networking which helps me find readers for my books. That is always one of the most important things to do when you self-publish. However, I also always offer my time to help you and for me, that is an important part of the process for me moving up the ladder. Tell me the things you are looking for, and the things you need help with to help me with…

They say men run from commitment. I think it's opposite. I think it's men who crave it the most. I fight attachment with everything I have. It's not even something being wrong with the long list of ones who want something with me; it's ME.

I've been reading--shocking I'm sure--a lot of e-books lately. Not just for pleasure, or reviewing, but also for education.

I like to see what other authors write like, how they do their words, and the point-of-views that they write from. See how they do it, learn the process, better my craft, and also to see what is most popular in each genre, and all the books written, in general.

WEREWOLF STORY (need a title for it)I have no name for this story, and since I've decided it will be the next one up after ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES, I am making a page for it so people can come by, check out the draft synopsis, and even help with the title!

The first title I had for it was Wolf Mountain, but then I made a second version and changed it over to Wolf Mountain v2. Neither of those, I think, are bestsellers, so if you've like to recommend one, I'd be delighted to have you suggest something.

Some very interesting things always pop up when people learn that you're a writer/author, or when talking to other writers/authors. One of the most obvious and common, is making a living at it. Getting paid, to put your words down on a piece of paper, whether it's digital, or physical.

Even I've said it. I want to make a living with my writing. i.e. I want to be able to afford to live off my writing, and have it pay the bills, groceries, etc.

Well, it's honestly pretty simple mathematics, or logistics, if you don't like math.

Ask yourself some questions:

How many hours do you work at your day-to-day 9-5 job? And you get paid a daily wage for it, yes?

Now, looking at that; how many hours do you spend on your writing? That's including marketing, editing, writing, formatting, talking about it with people, and all the rest?

Now, what if you were to ask your boss if you could cut your hours back to only doing it approximately one hour a day, or even one hour a week? …

If you see something that has no name, feel free to offer a title. If I use your choice, your name will go into the acknowledgements. I'm going to list these books going from what's for sale, to what's about to go up for sale, then the ones after that. So as each stage progresses, you will see it move up. That way you will know. The books at the very bottom of this page, are up for grabs. There is no telling when they will hit the editing stage.

BOOKS FOR SALEDark Illusions: The BeginningClick to be taken to the book's official page. Can also be found by hovering over the navigation bar and going down to DI. Character profiles will also pop up.

Dark Illusions: The Final ChapterClick
to be taken to the book's official page. Can also be found by hovering
over the navigation bar and going down to DI. Character profiles will
also pop up. Always ConsequencesClick to be taken to the official page. At the bottom you'll find all the links to …

Going to make this a page on my site, versus just random links all over the place.

I was accepted into the program Operation eBook Drop the other day and I wanted to share with you all, the information. I think it's a wonderful program and one which many people will get satisfaction out of joining.

The premise behind the program is to get ebooks (free ones) to members serving in the military so that they can have something to read in their downtime. If you're an author and you're willing to offer your ebooks for free to troops serving, then I definitely encourage you to join this program!

Here is the information you will need on how to, including the links where you can find this group/program online:

Excerpt off the site:How to ParticipateAuthors and Publishers - If you're a Smashwords author or publisher, email Ed and tell him if you'd like to offer free ebooks to participating troops. His email is ed#w#pat# @ #att#. #net (remove the #s and spaces). To create a …

The Awakened have existed since time began. Always there; never seen. Vampires with the ability to shapeshift into wolves, who retain many of the wolf abilities.
The clans have long since lived in peace with humans by an old order of law: nobody is to be Awakened without the Prince’s command. Those who do not follow the order of the prince, will meet true death. These laws were put in place to protect the humans and the Awakened so that they may co-exist peacefully—though some clans believe those rules outdated. ...

The Raaka have been idle far too long. They find no reason to peacefully live alongside humans. They believe humans were put on this earth for food and that’s it. It is time for the Runsasi Prince to step down and the Raaka clan to claim their rightful place as the true Leaders.

The Raaka Leader finds a woman who he believes will give him the advantage he’s been seeking for so long . . . a way in to the position he so craves: Prince of all cl…

Now, as I know the woman behind the article, I have to say first that I completely agree with her views, and respect them.

That being said, I have to say, as someone who looks like that right picture, and as "thin" to a lot of people: it isn't ANY better, or do you receive less criticisms when you're thin versus overweight, and it's not always a bad thing to be thin, nor to be 'fat.' Been on both sides of this issue myself as I was nearly 200 lbs once. Now, I do understand that most people consider thin to be unhealthy, but it isn't always. AND I have that body? But I weigh 150 lbs. That's right. I just said my weight. Publicly. :) And I used to look like that left picture, now I look like the left one and I weigh 150 lbs.

That body takes work to maintain, achieve, and continue to keep. HEALTHILY. I do not starve myself (ask anyone who knows how much I eat, or what I eat for that matter), nor do I work out 24/7 (lately I&…